Farallon Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)

Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Nasdaq, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,998,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 235,748 shares during the period. Nasdaq accounts for 1.6% of Farallon Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Farallon Capital Management LLC owned about 0.70% of Nasdaq worth $309,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NDAQ. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at $424,285,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,005,047 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $464,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,201 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at about $110,867,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the fourth quarter valued at about $105,481,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Nasdaq by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,379,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $802,401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225,672 shares during the period. 72.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Nasdaq from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $74.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.50.

Nasdaq Trading Up 1.9%

NDAQ stock traded up $1.54 during trading on Monday, hitting $80.75. The company had a trading volume of 6,422,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,842,494. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.06, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.00. Nasdaq, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.28 and a 52-week high of $84.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nasdaq, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. This is a boost from Nasdaq's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Nasdaq's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,398,253.92. This trade represents a 20.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $47,179.17. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 61,980 shares in the company, valued at $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Nasdaq Profile

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.